Sardinella Market Trends in the West African Sub-Region
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IN N Sardinella fished mainly in Ghana and CGte d'Ivoires-e an important component of cheap fish trade for countries of West Africa. This document examines the Pandings, the flows of Sardinella and the prices evolution over the past recent years. It is concluded that Sardinella remainsthe cheapest source of animal protein in the West Africm region and that improvement of conditions of trade are possible. Les Sardinelles p2chkes surtout au Ghana et en Côte d’Ivoire sont une composante importante du commerce de poisson vivrier en Afrique de l’Ouest. Ce document examine les apports, les flux de Sardinelles et l’dvolution des prix au cours des anndes ricentes. La conclusion est que la Snrdinelle reste la source la moins ondreuse de protdines animales dans la rdgion d’Afrique de 1 ’Ouest et que des amdliorations des conditions de comrnercialisation sont possibles. 414 1. Seasonal Distribution in Sardinella Landings Small pelagic resources off the western Gulf of Guinea coastal countries are concentrated in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The major species harvested are the sardinellas, anchovies and mackerels. Wide variations in small pelagic fish landings have been observed and are attributed, in part, to the phenomenon of upwelling. In good years, total small pelagic catchoff the Gulf of Guinea could exceed 300,000 MT with about three quarters originating from Ghanaian waters (Pezennec, 1991). Artisanal fishermen play a dominant role in exploiting the small pelagic resources. The anchovy stocks are harvested exclusively bythe canoe fishermen operating off the Ghanaian and Togolese coastlines. The bulk of Ghana’s sardinella landings are also from the artisanal sector.The Ivorian industrial fleets, on the other hand, are as equally important as the canoe fleets in the domestic production of sardinella. The sardinella season in the sub-region usually beginsin June/July andends in NovembedDecember. This has been consistent with the seasonal distribution in catches for Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana over the last couple of years. In Ghana, sardinella production for 1991 and 1992 reached theirseasonal peaks in August and July respectively (Figure 1). In Côte d’Ivoire, the producers recorded their season high for both 1991 and 1992 in the month of August. To meet increasing demand for fish in Gulf of Guinea coastal countries, substantial volumes of frozen sardinelldherring, among other frozen fish, are imported to supplement local catches. The bulk of the imports originate from Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea and from Russian fleets operating off Western Africa. The leading frozen small pelagic markets in West and Central Africa include Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Zaire, Cameroon, Ghana,Togo and Congo. Figure 1 : Monthly Sardinella Landings, 1991-92 (MT) 5 Monthly Distribution of Sardinella Catch, 4- Côte d’Ivoire (1,000 MT) (A) 3- 2- 1- 0-,,,,,,,.,,.,,,.,,,11,,.1 JFMAMJJISONDJFMAMJJISOND 199l 1992 COTE D’IVOIRE(looot) 415 Monthly Distribution of Sadinella Catch, Ghana (1,000 MT) (B) SOURCE : CRO/ORSTOM, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire FRUB, Tema, Ghana Imports feature prominently in Ivorian sardinella supplies. In 1991, some 21,440 MT OF frozen sardinella were imported intoCôte d'Ivoire, about the same quantity landed by the industrial operators thatCher year. two thirdsof the frozen sardinella imports, however, arrive outside the eherrinp season. II 2. Fresh Sardinella Brice Trends ardinella Price Movememts in C6te d'Ivoire Ivorian sardinella landings by the industrialfleet are sold at the fishing port through auction. The auction takes place at dawn and the fish is packaged in wooden crates each weighing about66 kg. Theyare auctioned in lotsof 56 crates and the buyers in turn sel1 them in lots of2,3 or 5 crates to artisanal processors. In effect, the large-scale dealers buy at low prices and re-sel1 to the processors with significant margins - reaping benefits without doing any productive work. At the artisanal level, the fresh sardinella is often thesold wives to or relatives of the fishermen for processing. In few instances,the operations may befinanced by an economic operator through a contractual arrangement Who in return gets the catch. Direct sales between fishermen and independent processors through bargaining are also common. The bulk of the sardinella landings are smoked prior to utilization. 416 The inverse relationship between landings and prices have been clearly exemplified in the illustrations (Figures 1 & 2). In Côte d’Ivoire,the sardinella auction prices rangedfrom a low of 73 CFAkg in the month of July toa high of 165 CFA/kg in May for the year 1992, reflecting the movement in landings. It should be added that in some years, during the Peak period, sardinella prices could fall to the extent that producers in isolated cases have to discardsignificant volumes at sea. Anywhere froma quarter to a third of the Ivorian frozensardinella imports arrive during the eherring seasona and they significantly affectthe landing prices of the locally produced ones. Frozen sardinella has a unique clientele - mainly processors in the interior therefore its prices are hardly affected byexcess supply at the production centres. 2.2 Fresh Sardinella Price Movementsin Ghana In Ghana sardinella is sold either directly by the producer or through a middleman. As the fish is discharged from the vessel, the middleman sells to retailers or consumers at a price mutually agreed upon after lengthybargaining. Sardinella is sold in wooden boxesor in standard basins.The average weight of a box of sardinella is 30 kg. In bothartisanal and industrial fisheries, some of the middlemencontribute financially towards the operation of the fishing craft. In return, the vessel’s landings are sold only throughthose middlemen. Mostof the middlemen in the artisanal sector are the wives and relatives of the fishermen. In addition to contributing to the operation of the fishing craft, these middlemen also offer credit tothe fishermen in the acquisition of fishing gear (Koranteng and Nmashie, 1987). They also assist the fishermen in times of difficulty, especially during the lean fishing season.As many as 18 women may handle the processing, distribution and Figure 2 : Fresh Sardinella Price Trends, 1991-92 350’ 350’ Figure 2 (A) 300- Ex-Vesse1 Prices, Tema, Ghana (cedidkg) 250- 200- JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASOND 1991 1992 GHANA (Cedis / Kg) 417 Figure 2 (B) Auction Prices, Abidjan (cediskg) Côte d’Ivoire (CFAkg) Source : INFBPECHE Database marketing of the landingsof one canoe; and onewoman could be associated with more than one canoe (Koranteng et al, 1993). For the1 99 1 and 1992 seasons,ex-vesse1 prices of sardinella varied between , . 167 cedis perkg in July/August 1991 to 330 cedis perkg in NovemberA3ecember 1992 (Figure 2). Although the usual inverse relationship between landings and prices is evident, there is also the underlying increasing trend in nominal prices ’. over thetwo-year period as a result of inflationally pressures. Prices of fresh sardinella landed by artisanal fishermen on the other hand, trended downwards. This is attributed to the fact that the 1992catch was more than double thar of 1991. Fish landed by canoes were generally sold at lower prices than those landed by the industrial vessels. In the former case, prices as low as 75 cedis/kg were recorded during the peak season. Besides the seasonal variation in catch, the other major determinant of sardinella landing prices is the tonnage of frozen sardinella imports available on the market. In Ghana, thefish producers have expressedconcern about importing sardinella during the <<herring season>>which contribute in depressing prices. They have petitioned the Government to allow frozen fish imports only outside the <<herring>> season. The Government has granted this request and has consequently placed a ban on the importation of frozen fish during this period. 41 8 Concerning price differentiation by species, it has been observed that fresh flat sardinella (Sardinella maderensis) auction prices tendbe to higher than round sardinella (Sardinella aurita) prices in Côte d’Ivoire. This may be attributed to the generally low supplies of the flat sardinella and as a consequence, higher demand. Similarly in Ghana, flat sardinella generally fetchesa higher price than round sardinella, except during the main fishing season when buyers (mainly processors) show preference for round sardinella. This preference may be influenced by the fatty nature of the round sardinella which reachesthe Peak of its fat cycle towards the end of the main fishing season (Kwei, 1966). 3. Smoked Sardinella Market Trends Within the framework of an EEC funded regional fisheries programmefor West Africa, cured fish trade in the sub-region is being monitored to examine among other things, quantities traded, trade flows and price trends. The programme has built up time-series of price data concerning smokedsardinella export trade from Côte d’Ivoire to BurkinaFaso, and from Ghana Togo/Benin, to among others. It has been observed that trends in fresh sardinella landingare prices generally reflected in smoked sardinella price movements on major wholesale markets, the only difference being that the smoked fish prices are lagged a month or so behind the fresh fish prices- period required for processing, storage and/or transfer to market (Tettey and Zigani,1992). 3.1 Smoked Sardinella Price Trends in Côte d’Ivoire/ Burkina Faso Trade A market investigative study undertaken as partof the activities of the EEC fisheries programme revealed that traders’ margins alone account